The Labyrinth: My Version
by Terra151
Summary: Lia wishes herself away into the Underground and finds Sarah has unintentionally scarred much of Jareth's kingdom. After giving away 10 years of her real life for 1 year with Jareth she hopes to heal the citizens of the Underground...and maybe its king.
1. Making the Wish

Lia sat at her desk sadly. Her parents were fighting again. She looked at her math homework in despair knowing she would never get it done. She sighed and put her head down on the desk, trying to ignore the shouts of anger made by her parents.

This only worked for a few minutes, at this time she jumped out of her chair frustrated and plopped on her bed. She covered her head with a pillow but it did nothing to block out the noise. She needed something to do. She decided she would read, since reading with noise never bothered her. She looked over at her bookshelf and skimmed the books; she finally came across one she thought looked remotely interesting.

The Labyrinth. That sounded like something that would hold her interest and distract her from the havoc outside her door. She was quickly caught up in a story of immaturity of a girl, who asked for the goblins to take away her infant brother, and the Goblin King was forced to intervene and give her a chance to redeem herself.

The ending was what got Lia most, he had been in love her, and when he offered her a life with him she turned it away. She wasn't sure if she did it out of love for her brother or just being too young. Lia put the book down and laid on her stomach. She rolled her eyes when she realized her parents were still fighting. She felt frustration take over her and she mumbled sarcastically,

"I wish the Goblin King would take me away right now."

Suddenly she felt bed move out from underneath her and she was suddenly plopped on a hard stone floor. She felt the breathe get knocked out of her and she shut her eyes in pain. She sat up and took a deep breathe. She looked around and saw she was in a dark castle. She stood and recognized the description from the story, the castle beyond the goblin city.

Lia stood and walked around, this had to be the thrown room. There was a large throne and sincerely large amount of empty space. Lia spun in a slow 360, looking around cautiously. As she turned fully around she jumped. There in front of her was the Goblin King.

She approached him slowly. He grinned at her demeanor and she noticed his teeth, they had somewhat a fang to them. She liked it immediately. His blonde hair was cut and pointed in every direction, giving him a fairytale effect. His eyes were mismatched and his taste was impeccable. He wore elegant attire, but Lia was surprised when she saw that he wore tights. She realized that she liked the message he sent, mystical yet sensual. She asked quietly,

"Please tell me you're not the Goblin King."

At this he made a confused face and cocked his head to the side,

"And why ever not? You did summon me."

She looked away. He drew closer and it took a moment for her to be able to speak. She felt his intimidating presence circling her and she explained poorly,

"I didn't really believe it. It was stupid. I was upset and I said that, but I thought it was a fairytale. I didn't really wish it."

"What's said is said." He replied simply.

"So there's no way to take it back? I can't run the Labyrinth or something?"

"No." he said shortly. She jumped at the response and he stopped for a moment to collect himself, "No you cannot."

She began to grow desperate,

"Then what do you plan on doing with me?"

He stroked his chin in thought and continued to circle her. He said amusedly,

"I'm not sure at the moment; maybe I'll make you my slave or maybe I'll throw you in the Bog of Eternal Stench. I can always think of something..."

He tossed her a mischievous grin, but she gave him no reaction. She looked away for a moment in thought then met his eyes cautiously,

"Please…let me run the labyrinth."

"No." He said. He grin disappeared and he turned to walk away. She clutched at his sleeve and said,

"Please, give me a chance."

He looked down at her looking a bit confused. He looked down at her hand and she slowly let go of his sleeve,

"You realize the Labyrinth is not the same?"

"Yes." She said simply.

He looked away painfully and said in a solemn voice,

"You have 10 hours in which to solve the Labyrinth."

She looked at him and said,

"Thank you."

This surprised him. He looked at her oddly and walked toward the door. Just as he was about to leave he waved his hand and she felt her surroundings change. She stood outside the Labyrinth and looked at it nervously. She said in a concerned voice,

"What've I done?"


	2. Entering the Labyrinth

She entered the Labyrinth simply enough. She felt her unease grow at the entrance. She was immediately met with two routes, pointing towards both paths were a pair of bone hands. It wasn't the same as the description in the book. It had changed. And not for the better.

She thought for a moment to when Sarah had met the worm, left had been the way to the castle. She shrugged, figuring she might as well try it. She walked down the path. Until it widened into a gathering of different paths. In the middle she saw a fountain spouting black water. Lia grimaced at the sight. She began to hurriedly walk away from it when she ran into something and tripped. She rolled over and saw she had tripped over a dwarf.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, that was my fault."

"You're right! It was!" He huffed and puffed for a moment then calmed down, "Who are you anyway?"

"Lia." She said quietly, "And you are?"

"I'm Hoggle."

"Oh," she stuck out her hand, "Nice to meet you." She said shaking his hand firmly. He looked at her confusedly and pulled his hand out of hers. She looked at him, "Do you know how to get through the Labyrinth?"

At this his eyes widened, he began to back away saying,

"Oh no, not again!" He took off like a bullet.

"No! Wait!"

But he was gone. She sighed and leaned against a wall. _Great. _She looked around and realized she still needed to choose a path. She shrugged and covered her eyes and randomly picked one. She opened her eyes and began to go down the path. She was glad to see that it had turns, but she was not happy to see the oozing purple goo coming out of the sides. It smelt horrible, was sticky and stained. She rolled her eyes. _Wonderful. _

She went down similar paths and felt like she'd been trapped in a Tim Burton film. She tried to hurry but didn't want to do something stupid. As she was walking, she saw the sun go down in a flash. At this Lia's eyes widened. She didn't remember that. Now she couldn't see. She fumbled in the darkness and tripped. She fell to her knees and let out a yelp. She heard a chuckle in the darkness and she jumped,

"Having fun?"

"Not at the moment. You?" She replied.

She could hear the smile in his voice,

"Why yes I am."

"Well at least one of us is." She said trying to get to her feet.

She reached around for a wall and leaned against it. It was far too dark and Jareth was frightening enough when she could see him, now he could be anywhere. She couldn't even see as far as her nose. As she tried going forward she ran straight into Jareth. She jumped and tried to back away but he grabbed a hold of her. He spoke in a soft soothing voice,

"Why bother trying? Why not just give up?"

"Because if you asking me to quit, that must mean I'm doing pretty good." She said simply. He chuckled slightly and said,

"Not as well as you'd like to think. This is the direction you came from."

Her eyes widened. Great, now he'd managed to confuse her. She tried to replay the situation in her mind but it difficult with Jareth so close to her. He seemed to sense her thoughts and spoke right into her ear, sending an uncontrollable shiver down her spine,

"Just stop trying…" She felt an odd and new sensation at his voice. She bit her lip nervously and shoved him away from her. Managing to lean against a wall,

"You're trying to distract me." She stated,

"Is it working?" he asked cockily.

"Yes." She said quietly. She heard no response. She thought for a moment and saw Jareth hadn't lied to her. When she fell, she ended up facing the wrong way. She sighed and said, "Wow, you were telling me the truth."

She heard only a chuckle and the sun suddenly arose once again. She flinched. He wasn't anywhere to be seen, but she was sure he was watching.


	3. Portal

Lia continued through the labyrinth in what seemed an increasingly slow pace. It felt like no matter which way she turned the landscape stayed the same. The walls were green, covered with plants and vines. There were flowers and mushrooms scattered through it, and occasionally she'd see a snake slither across it.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets frustrated. She rolled her eyes and sighed. She leaned on one of the walls trying to control her temper. How much time had she wasted in this same route? She didn't know. She leaned her head back trying to think. As she did she felt something touch her legs. Her eyes flew open and she saw a snake slithering across her lap. She watched it nervously and it paused and looked at her. She stared at it anxiously. She was surprised when it spoke to her,

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you."

She swallowed nervously. She said in a surprisingly calm voice,

"No worries, it's fine." He smiled at her and she continued, "Do you know how to get out of this section of the labyrinth?"

He thought for a moment,

"Yes, I think I remember. Follow me I'll show you the way."

She nodded and sighed in relief when he crawled the completely off of her lap. He moved faster than she imagined a snake would slither which she was thankful for. He was going down the same path that she had traveled and she had the urge to tell him he was going the wrong way; but instead of turning, he whistled. She looked at him confusedly.

She was surprised when a small gnome appeared. It looked at them expectantly. The snake looked at her and explained,

"You barter with him for your travel and he'll take you anywhere you want to go," She smiled happily, "for a price." He finished and her smile faded. She knelt next to him and said,

"Thank you for showing me the way. What's your name?"

"Typhus"

"Oh, well I'm Lia." He smiled and slithered away. She took a deep breathe and faced the gnome, "Hi."

"Hi." He said, "Where would you like to go?"

"Do you think you could take me to the entrance of the castle beyond the goblin city?"

"Actually, not today, his majesty has ordered that route is to be closed today."

"Darn it." She muttered. "How far can you take me in that direction?"

"Well the farthest I can take you is to the Valley of Shadows. That's about halfway through the labyrinth."

"Really? How far am I now?" She asked curiously/

"About a quarter of the way through."

"Oh." She said quietly, "How much will it be to get there?"

"Have you any money?"

"Only Aboveground money."

He tsked, "That won't do. Have you anything of value?"

She looked through her pockets and found nothing,

"The only thing I have is my locket. But I can't open it."

"Let's have a look." She pulled it off her neck and handed it to him. He looked it over for a few seconds and said quickly, "That'll do. Come on." He snapped his fingers and a portal appeared. He spoke in a clear voice, "The Valley of Shadows."

She looked inside and saw as it showed a view of a gloomy and dark landscape. She looked at him nervously,

"So I just walk through?"

"That's right." He said smiling.

"Oh." She took a step then stopped, "Is there anything I should know before I step through there?"

"Only one thing: Don't panic."

She nodded and stepped through the portal. She felt an out of body experience for a moment and felt nauseous. She had the feeling she was falling but knew she was standing. It was over in a few seconds and she wobbled as she entered the other side. The portal closed behind her and she looked around nervously. This place looked kinda dangerous. She took a deep breathe and remembered what the gnome said, don't panic.


	4. Valley of Shadows

The Valley of Shadows. The name was perfect. Lia didn't see a single bright color anywhere. Even her skin seemed dull. She put her hands in her pockets and started walking. It was cobbled path; the trees bordering it were dead and gray. There were dark storm clouds above her and the wind was blowing cold gusts in her face.

Lia knew this section of the Labyrinth would be difficult for her. She had never liked the dark; it had been one of her fears. Even before when the sun had suddenly disappeared it had been difficult not to panic. But this place already had her frightened, figures would appear out of the corner of her eye, and then disappear. Things would move, animal would growl, there was too much suspense.

She glanced into the trees and saw eyes peering at her. She jumped and just barely held back a scream. The eyes disappeared but she needed a moment to get a grip. She hurried along, hoping she could leave quickly. She kept her eyes on the cobblestone, hoping this way she wouldn't see anything to set her off. She was wrong.

A hand crawled out of the pathway and lunged for her ankle. This time she did scream and backed away quickly. She ran into someone who grabbed her quickly from behind. She stomped on their foot as hard she could and broke free of their grip. She ran as fast as she could, she wanted to go home. Not paying attention she tripped on a small stone and hit the ground. She grunted in pain and curled up in fear.

She felt panic set in. Her heart was beating rapidly. Her breathing was shallow. She swallowed nervously and she realized she was doing exactly what she wasn't supposed to do. She was panicking. She took a deep breathe and sat up slowly. She looked around; as she did it seemed less frightening. She chuckled lightly.

Though as she did she felt something touch her sides. She jumped slightly and spun to look into the chest of the Goblin King. He let out a loud chuckle,

"My goodness, I didn't think you'd scare that easily."

She let herself chuckle as well,

"Honestly, neither did I."

Realizing she was still at his chest she moved back quickly. Jareth grinned and said cockily,

"I'd best make a note of that for future reference."

"If you think that'll help…" Lia said shrugging the comment off. She was glad there no walls around to back her up against. She looked at him and said, "So did you just come here to scare me or did you have something important to tell me."

"Not to tell you, but to give you." She looked at him curiously as he made a small peach appear. She cocked her eyebrows amusedly,

"Pulling out the big guns already?" She asked grinning.

"No, not quite." He said smiling, "You might need it…" He said grabbing her hand. As he did he closed her fingers around the peach and with the other hand pointed behind her.

Her brows furrowed and she looked behind her. What she saw made her heart stop. A giant worm. No _way, this could not be the worm that guided Sarah._

"Come inside…." It coaxed. "Have a cup of tea…"

She rolled her eyes. _Great. _She turned around to speak to Jareth but quickly saw he had already disappeared. _Of course, leave alone with a giant worm, with nothing but a little peach to fight with. Jerk. _


	5. The Worm

Lia stared up the worm anxiously. _You gotta be kidding. _She looked around for something to use to fight it but the Labyrinth had changed. There were no more paths but now there were walls surrounding them in a large circle. The only door, of course was behind the worm.

Lia looked down at the peach in her hand, feeling more than hopeless. What was she supposed to do? Hypnotize him with it? She gripped the peach in her hand and gauged the distance between worm and the door. She charged trying to at all costs avoid the worm. It struck and she barely dodged. She slowed to a stop when she saw that his lower half was now in her way.

She turned around just in time to him strike. He hit her hard and flung her halfway back to where she started. She sat up slowly and realized he had hit her so hard that the peach had fallen out of her hands. She crawled over to where the peach lay and picked it up slowly.

Seeing the peach it struck again. This time trying to swallow her. She rolled just far enough away, but was still pelted with a few flying rocks.

"Come inside, meet the missus…" It said once again.

"I'd rather not." She muttered to herself.

She sat up painfully and rubbed her now sore sides. She wondered what to do when she heard small voices above,

"Well would you look at, a battle." It was a woman's voice.

"I'm betting on the worm." A younger voice said.

"Ya me too." Another girl added. Lia rolled her eyes. _I'm feeling so much support. _"Wait, what's that in her hand?" Lia looked up. She saw nothing at first. She squinted in the sunlight and saw the glint of tiny wings. Not paying attention she didn't notice the worm. "Oh geez, look out!" Lia moved just in time,

"Thanks."

"Aslinn! No cheating!" The first one said.

"As if! Look at her!" Aslinn shouted back.

Lia heard a flutter of wings near her ear. She looked over to see a fairy beside her. She had thick purple hair in a long braid. Aslinn pointed to Lia's hand as she said,

"What you got there?"

Lia looked over to check if the worm was attacking. He was only preparing to strike. She had a good 20 seconds. She opened her hand,

"Just a peach."

Aslinn's eyes widened and she suddenly got excited,

"That's perfect!" Lia was surprised and she cocked her eyebrows in confusion. "Throw it at him." Aslinn commanded.

"Why?!" Lia asked.

"Don't ask questions, just do it." Aslinn looking at the worm now fully in attack mode.

"What's it gonna do?" Lia asked just before she was forced to dodge. She ran in a full sprint, but was intercepted by his lower half. She slid to a stop and tried running the other way. Aslinn was beside her again.

"Throw the peach! He's hungry; he'll get out of the way long enough to eat it."

Lia pulled her arm back to throw but paused in confusion,

"Which way?!"

"Away from the door would be nice!" Aslinn said, noticing the worm once again was preparing to strike.

Lia pulled back and threw the peach as far as she could. As she did she saw the peach flew clear to the other side of the battle field. The worm's eyes followed the peach and chased after it without thinking. Lia then darted for the door.

She could have died. It was locked. She groaned in frustration. "Move." Aslinn commanded. She crawled inside the keyhole hurriedly. Lia then looked over at the worm and saw he had left a large hole in the pavement as he ate the peach.

"Aslinn…will he stop after he eats the peach?"

"Not likely." Came the reply.

The worm slowly straightened up,

"Then you better hurry…" Lia said nervously. The worm turned to look at her. "Aslinn…" The worm bared its teeth, "Aslinn!" Lia said with more urgency.

"I'm hurrying."

The worm crouched dangerously,

"Aslinn!"

"Almost done!" Aslinn said quickly.

The worm charged. He was coming at her at an amazing speed. Lia couldn't breathe. Her eyes widened and she backed against the door. She sucked in enough air to scream,

"Aslinn!"

"Now!" Came the reply. Aslinn crawled out of the keyhole and Lia pushed the door open. She shut the door quickly and pushed against it terrified. She felt and heard the thud as the worm hit the wall.

She froze not knowing what else to do. The next few moments were terrifying. But nothing occurred. She had won. She slowly slid into a sitting position. She took a deep breathe as she felt her heartbeat slow.

"Well that was fun…" Aslinn said grinning, "Wanna go again?"


	6. The Fireys

Lia stood shakily to her feet. Aslinn was grinning down at her. Lia shook her head,

"You're nuts…" Lia examined her. She attire was a short skirt and a sleeveless top. She was pretty and somewhat spunky. "Thanks for the help."

"No prob." Aslinn said easily. "It was messed up to put you in that position anyway…"

Lia shrugged ruefully, "That's Jareth for you."

Lia saw that the sun much brighter now. She saw more plants as well. It was different though. The leaves were an obnoxious purple. The grass was orange, and the clouds were as red as they are at a sunset. Aslinn landed on Lia's shoulder, resting her wings, "So where're you headed?"

"Jareth's castle."

"Really? You get wished away?" Aslinn asked curiously. Lia looked away embarrassed,

"Um, I accidently wished myself away…"

At this Aslinn laughed,

"Really?" She chuckled softly, "No matter how it happened, we haven't had anyone wished away in a while. People just stopped believing the story, I guess."

"Ya," Lia said remembering her surprise when she was transported to Jareth's castle, "I actually got to get going. I got a 10 hour time limit."

"10 hours? Normally it's 13." Aslinn commented. "But anywho I'm coming with you."

"Really? You want to?" Lia asked excitedly.

"Oh ya." Aslinn said grinning. "I want to see Jareth's face when he trumped a second time!"

"Wishful thinking." Lia said. She began walking happily. Lia enjoyed the atmosphere. Less fear. More joy. Though, it kind of looked like a 'My Little Pony' film. She shoved her hands in her pockets and took the time to take in her surroundings. She hadn't noticed the glitter at her first glance. Everything was sparkling in the sunlight. She looked over at Aslinn, "Where are we anyway?"

"I don't know, even the fairy territory isn't this….cheerful"

"It's almost irritating." Lia commented. The woods began to grow denser. Lia noticed there was no longer a path. She cautiously entered and could feel Aslinn's tension. She looked at her nervously, "What is it?"

"I have this anxious feeling…" As she spoke she heard the sounds of drums creating an all-too familiar beat. Her eyes widened. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Lia asked,

"It's the Fireys"

Lia thought back to the book. Well the setting fit the books description of them, orange and fiery. Each with a thick accent and crazy personality. Their trademark, the removal of body parts as a sport. She recalled how they had wanted to take off Sarah's head.

"Have they changed a lot?" Lia asked.

"They've gradually gotten more and more vicious. We'd better start running."

Lia took off in a sprint as she did she heard footsteps following. She heard menacing voices,

"Wait! Stop! The game hasn't even started yet!"

At this her fear grew and she ran even faster. But was hard to see with the bright plants reflecting light in her eyes. She tried to hurry and pushed branches out of her face. As she did, one of the fireys leaped in front of her. She stopped and swung at it. It caught it her hand and tried to bite her hand off. She slapped it upside the head and took off running once again.

She didn't know what to do. She felt a hopelessness fill her. She was about to give up when Aslinn shouted,

"Oh I forgot! There's a door coming up, turn left now."

Doing as she said, Lia turned and ran straight into a tree. But instead of feeling pain she just kept going. It was a different dimension. She had teleported again. She stopped running and looked at Aslinn,

"What was that?"

"Oh that, fairy exit. We can't stand the fireys."

Lia laughed, "Well, at least I'm not the only one." She looked around, "Where are we?"

Aslinn face became a bit more serious,

"The king's garden."


	7. The King's Garden

Lia froze. The King's garden?!

"Should we leave?"

Aslinn thought for a moment then said,

"No, this is the shortest way to the center." Lia looked at her nervously "We'll be fine."

Aslinn flew ahead of Lia and Lia followed cautiously. It was the most interesting garden she'd ever seen. It was beautiful, yet the beauty always seemed to be tainted with pain. For instance the roses were the most gorgeous and foreign color Lia had ever seen, but the thorns were at least 2 inches long and black. Such were the tress, the bushes, the flowers…all of them gorgeous, but tainted with pain. It gave Lia a feeling of wonder and pain at the same time.

Lia shook her head. She didn't need to be distracted, focus…. She watched Aslinn fly and could feel her tension. She wasn't speaking. This had to've been dangerous. She followed anyway, better to follow someone who knew where they were going then going back and getting lost.

She shoved her hands in her pockets nervously. As she looked back up, she saw Aslinn was gone. Her eyes grew wide,

"Aslinn" she called softly. Nothing. "Aslinn." She called a little louder. Nothing still. She took a deep breathe to try to calm down. She was in the most dangerous part of the Labyrinth, alone. She put her fingers to her temples trying to calm herself. But as she did, she felt someone grab her wrist. She was jerked around to face none other then the Goblin King. She looked up into his unpleased face with wide eyes.

"Lost little one?" He asked in a charming yet, somewhat agitated way.

She wasn't sure how to answer. But she could feel what he was expecting, a cocky and arrogant 'No!' and a jerk to pull her wrist out of his grip. But she couldn't do that, it just wasn't her way. Lia looked away, then said quietly,

"Yes."

She felt his surprise. His fingers twitched slightly as she said it. She looked up at him cautiously and saw he was looking at her curiously. She then realized Sarah would've never answered like that. She felt a blush come on and she looked away again. Could she do nothing right? As she thought this his fingers slid from her wrist into her hand and intertwined with her own,

"Then let me help you."

She could hear the insecurity as he asked it. He expected her to say no and call him a liar. She didn't think he was though. She looked up at him and he was carefully looking away, which was odd for the Goblin King. She gripped his fingers and he looked down at her surprised, when he did she nodded.

He began walking and Lia followed him cautiously. This could be the stupidest thing she'd ever done, or the smartest. She followed but was careful to remove her hand from his. He cocked a brow at her and she just shrugged. He grinned and kept walking. After a long awkward moment of silence she asked him,

"Do you know where Aslinn is?"

"Who?" He unconcernedly.

"Um, she's a fairy, she was with me…I was hoping maybe you'd seen her?"

"Oh, I had her removed…" He said thoughtfully. Lia hard it in his voice, he was goading her. She stopped and waiting for him to do so as well. He gave her a look, he expected her to snap at him but she didn't,

"Removed? Removed to where?" She asked frightened.

His brow furrowed slightly, and then his mouth tipped in amusement,

"You'll see when we get there." He said grinning.

Lia nodded and said no more. Jareth didn't comment but after a moment resumed walking. She wondered why Jareth would lead to Aslinn. He must've been trying to show her something. Or slow her down. Or both. She looked at him and tried to read his intentions but learned nothing. She would have to just see when she got there.

She watched him walk. It was bold, tall, in many ways a strut but it was more refined. He was obviously thinking. Probably not of how to get there, but of what to do when they did. Lia wondered the same thing…


	8. Dreams

"What are your dreams?" Jareth asked her nonchalantly. Lia stopped in surprise. This whole time neither of them had spoken, and then to break the silence with such a personal question…? Well, he was the king. She resumed walking and asked hesitantly,

"Pardon?"

"You heard me, what are your dreams?"

Lia didn't answer but thought silently. What could he possibly be thinking asking a question like that? Did he actually expect her to tell him? After a moment he cut in once more, "Your dreams, what do you wish for, dream about? Come, come, it's not a complicated question." He said trying to sound humorous. She looked away and spoke looking down,

"Happiness."

"Ah, so vague…" Jareth prodded.

Lia sighed and spoke after a moment,

"I wish everyone could be happy."

"Even me?" Jareth asked in obvious humor.

"Yes." Lia said without hesitation.

Jareth laughed outright at this statement. Lia said nothing. After a moment he said,

"Dreams such as that will never become a reality…" His smile very slowly started to fade. Just when he was about to make a frown he corrected his facial features and continued, "What would make you happy?"

Lia shoved her hands in her pockets nervously and didn't speak at first. She took a long time to get her thoughts together,

"Do you miss Sarah?"

Jareth laughed when he heard this,

"Now you're answering my question with a question?"

"Isn't that what you just did?"

Jareth laughed once more, but this time Lia joined him in a chuckle. She even dared to walk beside him instead of behind him. They were getting along, finally. She felt a part of her breathe a sigh of relief. Finally after a long moment Jareth spoke quietly, more to himself then to her,

"No, I don't miss her."

"I don't believe that." Lia said quietly. Jareth turned to look at her when he heard this, "The book said you loved her."

"I did, still do, but I don't miss her."

Lia pondered this in her mind silently for a long moment. He could've loved her, but that didn't mean he had to miss her. It made sense.

"To answer your question, being close to people makes me happy."

"How so?" Jareth asked prodding her further.

Lia looked at her shoes as she thought for the answer she sought. What _did_ she mean? She spoke not only to Jareth but to herself as well.

"I like lying for hours just talking. That makes me happy. Being emotionally intimate, learning about each other and having fun."

Jareth seemed to digest this as they took a seemingly random turn straight into through a wall. Lia paused looking at the wall, but slowly followed after a moment. Jareth was staring at her with a humored look,

"Trouble?"

"It's still weird…"

Jareth laughed to himself and continued guiding her through. After a long moment Lia asked softly, "Jareth? Why did you take Sarah to a ball of all places?"

Jareth didn't answer at first. She knew he knew the answer but was thinking of how to phrase it,

"It was her dream."

Lia's eyes widened. That made absolute sense. She shook her head surprised that she hadn't realized that before. She jumped suddenly when she felt Jareth breathing down her neck as he whispered,

"Let me give you your dreams."

She froze when she heard this, in her mind she knew it was a trick but she knew how she was. She was always too trusting, too believing in everyone's good intentions, even now she hoped that he was turning good again but her mind knew it was only a hope and now she was being drawn to him like a snake to the charmer.

He revealed a crystal orb and she looked inside to see herself and the goblin king, together and happy, they were sitting under a tree in a field when the sun was setting and they were talking, his arm around her and they both were sharing from their hearts. She gasped, realizing he had managed to peer into her deepest desires,

"How did you…?"

"I can give you this Lia, all that you ever wanted; I have the power to give you." She knew what was coming now, the catch, "Just fear me, and do as I say and I will be your slave."

"You changed it." She said dazedly.

Jareth kissed her neck making her inhale softly,

"A mere formality." He replied softly,

"So, I just do what you say?" Lia asked in hazy consideration.

"And fear me." Jareth said, "Then I will give you **everything** you want."

"B-but, I have to get home…"She whimpered as Jareth's face drew closer to her own.

"This can be your new home." He soothed.

She didn't know what to think, she knew she was supposed to go home but did she even want to go home? And Jareth was promising her her dreams if she would just serve him…she wanted this, but did that make it right to lose purposely?

"I don't know." She said unsure,

"I do." He whispered confidently before capturing her lips with his own. She felt shocked at the contact and felt her eyes close instantly. She felt trapped but at the same time free. Which was she?


	9. Mirrors

Lia blinked after a moment and realized she was alone. She looked out and saw she had also been taken somewhere. She gasped at what she saw, it was her dream! She was amazed when she saw a meadow, covered in thousands of flowers on rows of hills. The sun was high and the wind was blowing gently. Creating the perfect temperature and setting.

She felt two arms encircle her waist and Jareth whisper in her ear,

"I told you…"

She blushed. This was whole new territory for her. She had never dated anyone before so she had no idea how to react to his advances. Jareth seemed to sense her hesitancy and leaned over to kiss her cheek, "Does this not please you?"

"I'm very pleased." She said softly, "I'm just wondering if I made the right choice."

"Don't worry about that."

She looked up at him and realized his face was different. He was looking at her in a different way. Before she knew what he was doing as his lips came down to touch hers. She tried to pull away but Jareth's hand came to cup her cheek and stopped her. He was gentle and Lia after a long moment, stopped fighting.

He was intoxicating. He smelled heavenly and he tasted like peaches. Tasty and refreshing. His hands were teasing as he touched her hair, her face, her neck…He slowly prodded her mouth open and as he did Lia felt herself wake up.

She sat up quickly, breathing heavily and Jareth joined her. He kissed her cheek and spoke in her ear,

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes." She said quickly, "No." She said softly.

She looked up at him and he was grinning mischievously down at her. She turned away and didn't look at him. He spoke in her ear once again,

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know…but something doesn't feel right."

"It's your dream…" He said kissing her again. At his words she felt her heart rise but then; suddenly sink. Her head snapped back in a hurry. She looked at him with wide eyes and he looked down at her with a confused face. Her dream! He was using her! Damn it!!

"Oh no…I can't believe this." She stood up quickly and began walking.

"Lia." Jareth called following after her.

"Just turn it off, pop the bubble, I don't care, let me out of here."

"What?" Jareth asked surprised.

"Just stop it!!" Lia shouted very suddenly. She then sunk to the ground on her knees and said very slowly and softly, "Just stop playing with dreams and my emotions…"

She watched as Jareth blinked in surprise and then let out a smile she'd never seen before,

"Clever girl."

Then it was gone. She was back in the labyrinth alone. She herself begin to break down, no she couldn't cry, Sarah never would've cried. But that was her problem, she was nothing like Sarah! She began to weep, loud wails of bitter disappointment and betrayal. It had been so wonderful, her only dream to be alone in a field with him, to have him talking to her, to be able to talk to him and then it turned out he'd just been using her.

He never wanted to make a deal with her, he was just stalling so she'd run out of time. She wiped her eyes and tried to think, how many hours did she have left? Where was Aslinn? How would she get home? Argh!! This had been a stupid wish!

She decided she had sat for long enough. She stood and examined her surroundings. She jumped when she saw she was a large building filled with mirrors. Each one played her dreams, her past, her goals, her hopes, but the twist was each of them contained Jareth. She ground her teeth together,

"Talk about twisting the knife."

"Isn't so fun is it?" Jareth asked bitterly.

At this point, Lia began to lose patience,

"What did I do to you?!" she asked angrily,

"Everything!" He shouted back, "You read the story, you knew what I loved and hated about Sarah the moment you arrived here. So what did you do? You wormed your way into my affections! And why? Just so you could go back to that pathetic world of yours!"

"It wasn't like that!" She shouted desperately,

"Like hell it wasn't!" Jareth said striding toward her. She backed away but her still managed to grasp her by her arms and give her a good shake, "I know its true because I'm there!" He pointed at a large mirror toward the door and she cringed when she saw it, it was the same dream he had taken her too,

"Stop looking at that!" She cried out,

"The minute you read the story you pitied me and when you got the opportunity to try to right Sarah's wrongs you jumped at the chance! Why do you humans insist on meddling?!"

"Because I thought if I could help you then-!" She started but then stopped,

"What?" He asked sarcastically, "That I'd love you? Have you not read the story well enough? I'm cruel, Lia. Not some mythological prince charming."

"I didn't expect love…" She said softly, "I just hoped that maybe, you'd be happy again."

"Happiness is an illusion." He said bitterly, "Many things make me temporarily happy but it doesn't guarantee my happiness in life. "

She looked up at him and saw his perfect face looking at her with rage and pain. She wished…just for a moment, if only a moment, she slowly stepped forward and rested her head on his chest and said softly,

"I don't want to go home. I don't care what I have to do here, be a slave, clean the bog of stench, I don't care. I just don't want to go home."

She felt him watching but did nothing. She merely soaked up the contact of her head to his chest, knowing it wouldn't last long. After a moment he spoke,

"Run the labyrinth."

She looked up at him hurt. She knew he was rejecting her. He was afraid to get hurt again but he didn't look at her. He looked into the mirror of her dreams and smiled when a new one appeared.

She gasped and tried to turn him away from seeing it but he saw it anyway, it was him and her together in his castle, both of them in morning robes sitting on a settee talking to one another, but what made the dream so embarrassing was that she was wearing a wedding ring.

The Goblin King laughed a deep throaty laugh,

"You really are something. Here, I go and break your heart and you suddenly dream of being married to me."

She turned away from him, tears in her eyes and a blush of shame covering her cheeks. As she sniffed softly she heard a large crack. She spun to see that the mirror had cracked straight down the middle and was shattering into little pieces. Then she saw the mirror had turned into a nightmare, she back at home waiting for divorce papers, listening to the screams of anger and the loud bangs as objects were thrown across the room.

Her eyes widened when she saw that Jareth had seen all of this. She cried out suddenly,

"I hate this room!"

Then just as suddenly, there was another shattering explosion as another mirror broke, and another and another. All of them were breaking. "Stop it! " She shouted watching as all of her mirrors broke.

She turned to face Jareth with tears in her eyes and saw his face expressionless. No longer angry, but no longer humored either. She fell to her knees and whispered, "Please, make it stop. You're tearing me apart…"

Though as she said it she looked up into his hand and was as surprised as he was when the glass orb in his hand suddenly shattered. He jumped and looked at her frantically,

"No! I will not be broken by your kind again!!" And with that, he disappeared.


	10. Plans

Lia walked with her hands shoved inside of her pockets, feeling frustrated, hurt, angry and tired. How can one man have such an affect on her?! She could still hear him taunting her. She absent-mindedly kicked a pebble in front of her as she wandered.

As she rounded a corner she heard a small noise. She blinked and listened closely. It was a small muffled voice. She followed the sound and was surprised to see Aslinn. She was bound with ropes and gagged.

She was about to free her when she noticed she was being guarded, by none other then Sir Didymus himself. She thought back to the book and realized of all Sarah's other helpers he was the easiest to persuade.

"Aslinn!" She cried out coming toward them,

"Halt!" Didymus shouted stabbing the ground just in front of her feet. There were a few differences in him she noticed, for one that his small rapier was replaced with a long broad sword. "No one is to approach the prisoner!"

"I'm sorry." She said feeling disgruntled at the difficulty of loop-holing his instructions. "But I was informed by the Goblin King that you're needed at the castle and I'm supposed to take your post."

"Indeed?!" He shouted sounded excited, then he paused looking at her suspiciously, "Where ist though sword?"

"Um…" She stuttered for an explanation, "I don't need a sword, I have powers." She said suddenly, realizing how lame her lie sounded.

"Powers?" He asked astounded, "What sort of powers?" _Yes!_ She cheered inwardly.

"Actually, I'm not supposed to speak of them under orders of the Goblin King," She said easily. "But I was warned that if you didn't arrive at the King's Castle soon I'd be banished so please for my sake hurry!" She urged him.

"Of course, my lady!" He shouted, "Ambrosias! Come!"

A shaggy hound came to his side and he climbed atop the saddle, hurriedly riding toward the castle. After he reached a small distance away she untied Aslinn,

"Powers?" She asked raising an eyebrow,

"Shut up." Lia said grinning. "Now we just follow him to the castle." Lia said.

"Ya, that was the only slick part of your plan." Aslinn said, "I would've been too busy thinking up a better alibi then to try to secretly get directions."

"Hey, that alibi just freed you, so lets go." Lia said leading the way.

So Lia followed Sir Didymus, making sure to leave enough space between them to not be seen. Which it wasn't hard to follow Didymus, considered he talked to Ambrosias the whole way. Lia watched as they approached the castle, Sir Didymus entered the gate.

"Well there it is." Aslinn said.

"I'm not sure what to do now." Lia admitted.

"Well, I'm thinking we storm in their, kick butt and you go home." Aslinn replied.

Lia thought about it and shrugged, she didn't really have a strategy at the moment.

"Ok, kick butt, it is."


	11. Times Out

Lia and Aslinn didn't really have to storm the castle, as they had planned to. To be honest there were no real guards. Instead Jareth had been smart and planted traps… Lia already had had her fair share with them; one of them was a giant, yet somehow invisible spider web. Thankfully Aslinn had been able to help her escape. So after finally making it through the gate into the city they managed to sneak their way to the castle.

Lia opened the large, heavy, wooden doors slowly, not wanting to be caught,

"Question…" Lia whispered suddenly.

"What?" Aslinn replied,

"How I do stop the clock? By getting into the castle?"

"Doubt it." Aslinn said, "Probably by convincing him to let you go."

"Great." Lia rolled her eyes.

She crept inside and slowly shut the door, hating the large and unavoidable creak that occurred as she did. She sighed once it was shut and leaned against the door, putting her back against it.

"Now what?" Aslinn asked.

"I don't know, you're supposed to be the one with all the answers." Lia said.

"Really? Why am I not the one with the 10 hours over my head? Oh wait, that's because that's your job."

"Point made." Lia conceded. "So, should I try to find Jareth?"

"I think so." Aslinn said, though as she did she heard a voice cry,

"Stop! How dare thee intrude upon this sacred ground?!"

Lia rolled her eyes. Didymus…now she had to find a way to shut him up.

"Sorry, good sir." She said as she took the sword out of his hand. She pointed it at the small fox causing Aslinn's eyes to widen, "Where's Jareth?"

"I'll never speak against the king!" Didymus shouted.

Suddenly she decided to change tactics. She dropped the sword and hit her knees, grabbing the fox's hands,

"Sir Didymus…"

"How dost thou know my name?"

"Do you remember Sarah?" She asked. His eyes revealed a pained look, revealing that he did. "I come from her same world, and I would like to return to it. Please, tell me where the king is…I mean him no harm but I want to go home."

"I cannot." Sir Didymus said turning away.

"But why?!" Aslinn asked.

"The last time…" Didymus started but couldn't finish.

Lia's eyes widened. She understood, when Sarah conquered the Labyrinth it had affected all of the kingdom…even the labyrinth had changed for the worst because of her…

"I understand." Lia said quietly as she rose to her feet.

She then rushed up the stairs, hoping it was the right direction. She ran up the stairs as fast as she could, but not much of a runner she was already short of breath.

"Is this the right way?" Aslinn asked.

"No clue." Lia answered.

"I'll fly ahead and see…" Aslinn said. Lia watched her go and wondered if that really was a good idea. And as she thought this an ominous voice boomed in the stairway,

"You just don't know when to quit do you?" She looked up and saw him a few stairs ahead of her, she ran up to him but as she did he disappeared,

"Jareth!" She shouted chasing after him,

"You'll never win…" He mocked another few steps in front of her once more.

"Just shut-up!" She said trying not to let him deter her.

She gripped the hand rail trying not to give in to her fatigue,

"Look at you, you're exhausted." He laughed.

"Who's fault is that?" She wheezed, not halting her attempts at catching him despite how futile she knew they were.

"Just stop trying!"

"No!" She screamed.

She was almost in tears when she reached the top of the stairs, he was right, this was pointless. She gripped her fist. Dammit! She got herself in this mess and like hell she was gonna quit now!

She looked up and saw him standing before her. She hated how she appeared. She was wheezing and sweaty with tears in her eyes. She could see the condescending look in his eyes,

"Really, Lia, this is really rather pathetic…"

"I don't care." She said. "Are you happy now?" Lia asked.

"Am I happy?!" Jareth shot back, "You're the pathetic human that wanted to solve this Labyrinth in the first place!"

"At least I didn't play with your emotions!"

"Like hell you didn't!" Jareth screamed. "I am so tired of you humans coming into my world and trying to worm their way into my affections if they are only going to abandon me!"

"You saw my dreams!" Lia shouted for once not bothering to consider the cost, "You know I never wanted to leave…"

Jareth at first said nothing, but Lia could feel him watching her,

"You really are a fool."

Lia bit back the hurt she felt at his words,

"And you're not?" She questioned.

He took a step toward her, lifting his hand; almost hitting her he was so furious.

"You little wretch!" He ground out,

She glared at him waiting until his hand dropped to his side before she looked away and sank down to the ground,

"I wish I'd never made that wish…"

Jareth spat in disgust,

"Well that makes two of us."

Lia ignored him and raised her knees and rested her head on them,

"I'm stuck." She said softly. He gave her a questioning look but didn't ask outright. "How much time do I have left?" She asked suddenly.

"2 minutes." He answered sullenly.

"And how do I get sent home?" she asked looking up at him.

He laughed bitterly,

"I'm supposed to offer you your dreams but given to how fond you are of me, I'm almost inclined not to…"

"Very cute." She said sarcastically but jumped when the Goblin King was kneeling down beside her. His eyes carried an emotion she hadn't seen since…….he showed her, her dream. She swallowed unconsciously and leaned away but didn't get far, realizing he had her hand in his,

"Lia, stay with me, become my wife, let me give you all that you desire, just fear me…do as I say, and I will be your slave." He said in such a pleading voice. She knew he was just trying to make her lose but she wanted so much to believe him…

"You took out the love me part." She said feeling as dazed as the first time she'd heard the offer.

"Please…" He whispered in her ear.

She didn't say anything but after a long pause stood to her feet,

"What happens if I don't answer?"

"What?" He asked confused.

"Or what happens if I say no? Is that how I go home, by rejecting your offer?" She asked in a frantic voice.

"Well actually…"

"And if I say yes, that would mean I lose…so what happens if…?"

"You're out of time." He said quietly.


	12. Repurcussions

It was dark, that was the first thing Lia noticed. She touched her head tenderly and felt a knot and a small amount of blood. Great…she sighed; she knew this had been a stupid wish. She tried to stand but her knees were too shaky. After a moment she called out,

"Jareth! You could at least explain to me what's going on!"

Silence. She bit her lip in frustration, understanding why she and Jareth had never really gotten along. She tucked her knees up to her chest, she didn't like this…It was an oubliette, she realized. Jareth had put her here to forget about her.

"You alright lass?" A voice asked, making her jump in surprise.

"Who's there?" She called back shakily, wishing there was some sort of light. This could be some horrible monster and she would never know and that was what she couldn't stand, the unknown.

"The name's Wesley," The aged voice replied, "Lemme guess, you didn't complete the labyrinth in time…"

"How'd you know?" She asked.

"It happens to the best of us." He said nonchalantly.

"Is there a way out of here?" She asked scooting toward the voice.

"Oh there's a way, but its expensive." He said knowingly.

"What do you mean?" She asked surprised,

"You pay with years of your life." He explained, "You want out for a year? 10 years of your life in exchange."

"What?" She exclaimed, "That's ridiculous!"

"Exactly." He said, "Why bother?" Lia sighed at the statement and leaned against a black wall, "Why are you here?" He asked after a pause.

"I don't know…" She said slowly, thinking back to when she'd made the wish in the first place. She thought of screaming and objects thrown across the room… "I think I just wanted to escape…just for a little while."

"What about the King?" He prodded.

"What about him?" She replied confusedly. Feeling her heart ache at the thought of him and how the last events with him had played out.

"Nothing to do with him?" He asked.

"Not really." She said tensely, wondering what he was getting at.

She was shocked when she heard him say in an enraged voice,

"You liar."

"What?" She questioned. She blinked when she was brought to the throne room once more. She jumped at the sight of Jareth before her,

"You think you can lie to me?" He asked in fury.

"That was you?" She asked shocked. She then recalled when he'd done the same thing to Sarah and Hoggle when he'd portrayed himself as a goblin and hated knowing she'd been fooled, "And you call me manipulative?"

"That was not the only reason you came, Lia!" He continued.

"Why do you care?" She shouted back.

"Because I know _you_ do!" He shouted making her eyes widen in surprise.

She felt her fist clench in fury,

"Alright…first you lead me on, then your angry because I have feelings for you but you think I'm manipulating you" She paused feeling her frustration build, "and _now_ your angry because I say I _don't_ care for you?"

He marched in a small circle, so unlike how he'd been the first time she'd seen him,

"You humans are so infuriating!"

"Oh, and Faes are completely reasonable." She called back sarcastically. He turned to glare at her and grind his teeth in anger, "Now what's going to happen to me?" She asked.

"Whatever I desire." He snapped back,

"Then _desire_ for me to go home." She replied.

"No."

"Why not?" She cried out.

She was surprised when he suddenly appeared, inches from her face. His hand encircled her arm and marched her backward. She tried not to stumble as she was then shoved hard into one of the walls.

"Because…" He said through gritted teeth into her ear, "I want you to suffer the way I have."

She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes,

"No, you don't…you're just scared."

There was a flash of pain that came and then quickly disappeared to be replaced with anger,

"You are now a prisoner of my kingdom, so I hope you soon grasp the levity of situation…" He said throwing her arm out of his grip in disgust. He took a few steps away from her and then turning to her smiled and said,

"Welcome to the Underground."

As he said this she again found herself in the oubliette. This time alone. She stared around in the darkness and thought about Jareth. Tears filled her eyes and she softly cried, wondering what she could do and who could save her.

* * *

Yes it's been a while but please let me know what you think about this! This is not the end! ^_^


	13. The Trade

Time was deceptive. With no light, sound or movement it was impossible to tell if Lia had been in the oubliette for minutes, days or hours. But in those excruciatingly long moments, Lia had had a lot of time to think. She knew what she had to do now; it was her only option… She slowly made her way to her feet, now weak from lack of use and leaned against one of the oubliettes curved walls. Her throat was dry and her knees shaky. She was afraid but after all that had happened…she felt almost numb.

She wanted to shout, to be like Sarah and show the world that she wasn't afraid…but after all of the time spent here, she'd finally come to the resounding conclusion that: She was not, and never would be Sarah. And despite what others may say, she wasn't her replacement or a way to rewrite the story either…Sarah had made her choice, and Lia's moment to decide her own destiny was now.

So she whispered, so softly, but with conviction,

"I want to make the trade…"

Just as she expected Jareth appeared but with a small goblin beside him.

"Do you now?" Jareth asked with hands on his hips, an arrogant smiled flashing down at her.

"How long are you expecting to pay for?" The Goblin asked, adjusting a parchment and quill he carried.

Lia looked down, and tried to gather any inner strength she might have left,

"Do I have 10 years left to live?" She asked uncertainly.

The goblin looked down and flipped through several parchments and after a moment of hurried reading looked back up at her and said,

"Yes." He nodded cheerfully, "That would be an acceptable payment."

"How do I do it?" Lia asked glancing cautiously at Jareth.

Jareth gave her a look and stepped forward. He held out his glass orb to her and gave her an expectant look. She returned the exact look, wanting more of an explanation.

"You hold it." He said somewhat exasperated, "It won't hurt."

She bit her lip and slowly took the orb out of his hand. She clenched it in her fist and understood what he meant. It didn't hurt exactly, but it was strange. She felt the years of her life leaving her and could see Jareth looking away. Finally the orb stopped and she sank to her knees, feeling exhausted.

"Get her out of here, take her to the castle." Jareth commanded the goblin,

"Yes, my lord." He responded as Lia felt her subconscious take over.

* * *

She awoke in a bed, with cream coloured satin sheets. Of course, Jareth was not the man for small things, even for prisoners. She looked about the silently, hoping to keep everyone away for a while. She hugged her knees and tried to gather her thoughts….ten years of her life were gone. But it gave her a year. A year to try and make things right. She sighed and lay back against the pillows. Her chest ached with the stress of all that had happened.

She stood slowly and it was then that she realized that she was in a small satin nightgown, she blushed at the thought of someone putting her into it. She clutched the material in her hand as she tiptoed towards the door in her room. She slowly cracked it open and peeked out. There was a large hallway going past her room. She could hear sounds of goblins causing chaos but none were within her sight. She slowly closed the door once more and leaned against it. She felt lost, now what was she supposed to do?

She made her way to a wardrobe and found a it to be full of dresses, she picked out a simple brown and cream dress. She exited her temporary room and began to walk down the hallway, she found it lead to the throne room. Thankfully, Jareth was not present. All of the goblins though were having quite a good time, shouting, running, punching, laughing, and generally just being goblins. When they saw her they all yelled in joyous recognition,

"Lady!"

She grinned, amused at their antics. They had seen her be carried back to the castle she realized. She sat down on the stone steps beside them and many gathered around her to sit next to her.

"Where's Jareth?" She asked quietly, afraid that mentioning his name would make him appear.

"Oh, well he's punishing Mee Mee." One answered,

"Yeah, she wouldn't stop stealing items in the castle, so His Majesty is teaching her a lesson." Another goblin chipped in.

"Oh…I see." She answered slowly, "How long until he'll be back?"

"Who knows?" A goblin said causing them all to break out into laughter.

She couldn't help but smile, she liked these goblins. They were comforting, safe…

"Lady, are you the King's new wife?" A small goblin asked.

Her eyes widened,

"No!" She said surprised, "Where did you get that idea? "

"…Well, we didn't know why he would bring you here…"

"I made the trade to get out of the oubliette." She answered quietly.

Some of them gasped,

"How long?"

"I gave them 10 years of my life."

Oh Lady!" They said sadly.

"Ya, I know…" She replied.

"Well, then you'll be staying here for a long time?" Another goblin asked.

"I don't really know." Lia said, "I'm kind of waiting for Jareth to explain everything to me…" she laughed to herself, "But knowing him it'll be a poor explanation,"

"Hmm?" the goblins asked inquisitively,

"He hates me right now." She answered back.

"What an inaccurate summary of my feelings." A voice said arrogantly.

Lia started and spun around to face Jareth,

"Damn it, Jareth! Could you please use the door like everyone else!"

"Now what fun would that be?" He said smirking at her alarm. "Come with me, I have a 'poor explanation' to give you."

She grimaced at her words being flung back at her, no matter how true they were, but rose and followed him down the hallway to receive some insight from the Goblin King.


	14. Explanations

He was beautiful, Lia was struck with embarrassment at how much she felt it now. A poets shirt, with a black leather coat that was rimmed with purple. Black trousers and large black riding boots. His beak nose and fanged teeth and mismatched eyes…his appeal was drawing her to him like a magnet. He seemed to sense it and smirked at her.

She looked away, trying to ignore the desire she felt. They had made their way to a terrace overlooking the King's Garden. She felt her heart ache looking at it again. Beauty surrounded by pain. What made her heart ache was that she knew that it hadn't been like this before Sarah…she'd done more damage then she'd planned to.

"Don't do that." Jareth commanded softly.

"What?" She asked turning to look at him.

"Pity me."

She looked down; she didn't know how to explain what she was feeling. She did pity him, but it was more like a feeling of empathy. She pitied him the same way she pitied herself.

"Sorry…" She muttered.

She then leaned back against the railing of the terrace and waited for his explanation.

"You've given away 10 years of your life in exchange for one year out of the Oubliette." Jareth said quickly, "So with that time you are not considered a prisoner, but not a free citizen either, you are more of a sojourner for the year you have. "

Lia nodded, trying to take it all in,

"Where will I be staying?" She asked.

"As a guest, you are permitted to stay here, if you'd like." Jareth said, giving her a look.

Lia wanted to assume that the look was meant as irritation at the idea of her staying in the castle, but she could see it was something else. Almost as if it was a façade, he was insecure and hated it.

"Well, if it won't disturb you…" She said, wanting to feel invited rather than a burden.

"You're entire presence in my kingdom will disturb me." He snapped at her, "But you've paid for it, and I will grant you your due entitlement."

"Thank you." She said brusquely, looking away. She hated this. Hated the fact that he had no kind word for her, but then again, she wasn't so happy with him either. She didn't want to go home, but was staying trapped with a manipulative, cruel, Goblin King really better?

She stiffly began to walk away, wanting time alone. Unfortunately, Jareth didn't agree and snagged her wrist, pulling her back.

He looked angry, again.

"Why?"

She looked at him confusedly,

"Excu-"

"Why would you make the trade?" He demanded, "Why would you when you know that it will only make us more miserable?" He demanded, noticing her sadness when she tried to walk away.

Her heart twinged at the word, us. But she tried to not let it hit home. She thought of the mirror, her dream of being with Jareth, and despite how sad it sounded, she knew why she'd made the trade…

"…You saw-"

"-Don't!" Jareth commanded, obviously not wanting to be reminded of what he saw.

"You are so complicated!" Lia muttered, finally exasperated herself. "I can't figure you out at all."

"Then stop trying!" Jareth shot back.

Her eyes welled up suddenly and all of her reserves finally broke,

"I can't." She cried out in a watery voice.

Her tears took him by surprise, he was used to fighting with stronger women…a girl who would shout and throw a tantrum, but Lia had seen too much violence and anger in her home and had learned to avoid it. All she had left was her sadness.

"I can't help but try to figure you out…I want to make you happy, I want _us…_ _**both**_, to be happy!" She tried to contain her anguish but the days had taken their toll.

She jumped when she felt his large hand on top her head. It was tender, unlike his words had been. He was quiet as he spoke in a troubled voice,

"You can't save me…"

Lia hiccupped and wiped a stray tear away,

"That same way it tore you apart to see Sarah go…it hurts to watch you suffer…" she sniffed, "And I can't _do_ anything, you won't let me. The reason I made the trade was because I wanted to try to make things right…"

"But you_ can't_…" Jareth said in a quiet exasperated voice,

"Between _us_…" She finished, "I can't take away the pain Sarah caused you…but I don't want you to think I'm out to take her place, to try to use you…I just…" She let her voice trail off, knowing she'd already said too much.

Jareth let his hand trail down her hair as he removed it from her head,

"My dear, _you_ are the complicated one."

She looked up at him in hope. Seeing it broke Jareth's reserves. How could he have thought that this girl was merely manipulating him…she was too innocent for that. He sighed and said, "I find that I'm not as angry as I once was…"

Lia smiled softly,

"I want to start over."

"Agreed." He said quietly, not looking at her, still slightly guarded, "But you know now that I am cruel."

She nodded, now looking away herself,

"I know…"

"Come then." He commanded gently, "You haven't eaten yet and you have yet to see the entire castle."

She looked up at him and saw no anger, no malice, no deceit…She then gave a small smile and nodded, following him back through the castle.

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Please Comment! More is on the way! ^_^


	15. A New Start

Awkward.

That was the word. The situation was horribly awkward. Even though she and Jareth had agreed to put the past behind them and start fresh...sitting across from each other for the morning meal was tense.

The meal was magnificent. But string across at the handsome man she'd helplessly fallen for and had betrayed by...it was difficult. His attire of course was spectacular. A black vest with a maroon poets shirt and black tights.

"How are you enjoying breakfast?" Jareth asked suddenly.

Lia jumped a bit,

"Its amazing." She said honestly. Not sure how else to continue the conversation she let herself go silent.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Jareth asked.

Lia blinked slowly at the audacity of the question. How could she possibly have plans? She was just glad that she wasn't going to spend her whole year in prison.

"No..." She said.

"If you'd permit me, I'd like to give you a tour of my kingdom..."

He looked nervous. So unlike him. Normally he was so hard to read, but he was obviously trying to be open with her. He was taking their agreement seriously.

"Sure." she said easily, "Sounds fun..."

And thats how it started.

They toured the rooms of the castle, all of which were exquisite, and usually inhabited by goblins. They were who Lia liked the most...They were funny and easy to talk to. Jareth was extremely polite throughout the tour.

"This is the art room..."

"Really?" Lia said, "These are Fantastic!"

"You enjoy art?" Jareth inquired.

"Absolutely!" Lia answered examining the paintings. Some of them were of the kingdom, some were of humorous goblin-caused situations and some were of Sarah. "Did you paint these?" Lia asked.

"Yes." Jareth said quietly.

"I didn't know you painted..."

"Well I do more than intervene wen my goblins take children..."

"W-wait...intervene?" Lia asked confusedly.

"Of course." Jareth said simply. "You did not read the story well enough...I never took Sarah's baby brother...and I never took you."

"But the words are 'I wish the Goblin King would take you away right now'."

"Yes, and the goblins fall under my jurisdiction and more often then not they act on their own...while I'm left to fix the mess..." He spoke slowly, "That's what the Labyrinth was created for, I needed a way to be able to send the stolen children home without seeming to submit my authority."

"Is that so important?" Lia asked.

"Of course, without my authority, how could I rule or protect my kingdom?"

Lia nodded. He always had a way of making sense.

"It must be difficult for you...to be portrayed as some sort of villain to us humans..."

He glanced at her and she could see she was right.

"Come, there's more to see." He said striding away.

She couldn't help but smile.

They were making progress...

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Sorry its been so long! Please comment and let me know what you think! ^_^


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